Giveaway winner and a prayer request

Your comments on my hospitality post were delightful and well worth reading! You all are so honest and sensible and thoughtful, and I connected with every single comment. Thank you for all the ideas and sympathizings! 🙂

I’m learning that hospitality ought to be shaped by what God has given us to share rather than by our inflated ideas of what others expect.

The giveaway winner (chosen by random.org) is Barbara Zeisemer. Barbara, I will contact you by email and get the book sent to you. I hope the rest of you get a chance to read The Gospel Comes with a House Key, too! It’s a book I can heartily recommend.

As always, feel free to email me if you have thoughts or questions you don’t want to share publicly. I’m always glad to listen.

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In other news, our family is going through a painful time. We found out this week that the little girl who has been in our home for a year is leaving on Monday. After nursing her back to health and spending countless hours holding, rocking, and playing with her, she feels like my own. She is happy and sparkly much of the time, and sticks to me like glue. How and why she has to leave is beyond my comprehension.

I’m trying to console myself with the fact that God loves her more than I do, and can look after her. But still, it feels terrible to our whole family.

Please pray for us as we process our grief and loss. Pray for goodness and mercy to pursue our little girl all the days of her life.

There is nothing as painful as giving up a child that feels like your own. We took care of two baby girls for 17 months. It is now 2 years since they left and it’s still hard. What has given me the most comfort and purpose is interceding for them and knowing that I am very likely the only one praying for them. Before they had us they had no prayer warriors. Now they have us! I just choose to believe that it will be the difference between life and death to them. We see them about every two months. I am the only mommy they have and they call me that. They live with their single dad. They are 3 and 5 now.

Oh dear Rosina, my heart aches with you all! The year that you spent with your dear girl was priceless, and I believe the impact you had on her will continue through her life. May the coming days be filled with peace for you and your family and may you rest in the fact that God is able to multiply the gift you gave and impact her for eternity!

Rosina, I’m sorry the little girl you’ve cared for is leaving. My friend used to do foster care and I would get attached to these children too. It was always heartbreaking when they left but I know it was harder for them.
I will be praying.